The unpretentious green huts that have sustained London cabbies for more than 130 years are to get a new lease of life, thanks to a £69,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

Only thirteen of the original sixty-one Cabmen’s Shelters survive and their role has been largely overlooked, in fact most passers-by are completely unaware of their function.

Now the Creative Intelligence Agency, a non-profit arts and design organisation, will raise public awareness of their history, help set up a friends group and promote conservation and maintenance to preserve them for the future. It will work with the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund and London Transport Museum.

All the remaining shelters, dotted around central London, are Grade II listed and are still looked after by the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund that built them between 1875 and 1914. Now, as then, they provide the city’s black cab drivers with a place to rest and buy refreshments.

Sue Bowers, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund London, said:

These examples of living history, dotted about London’s streets, would continue to disappear were it not for such a project. This will not only help to conserve them but also give former cabbies a voice bringing their heritage to life.

The Cabbies’ Shelters Project will interview present and former cabbies to build up a picture of life in the London taxi trade since the Second World War. Also interviewed will be some of the people who have run the tiny cafés that operate in each of the shelters.

The recollections gathered, as well as a selection of cabbie memorabilia plus a full map of all the shelters (surviving and missing), will be donated to The London Transport Museum. In addition, this material will be the inspiration for lively and engaging artist commissions by Kathy Prendergast and Emma Smith.

The public will get the chance, during Heritage Open House days, to see inside some of the shelters, normally the exclusive preserve of the cabbies themselves. Local volunteers, including young people, will be encouraged to get involved to record the interviews and help gather the background information for the project.

Alongside commissioned artworks, oral histories, and visual documentation of the shelters, the project’s legacy will include a friends group that will help the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund to ensure ongoing support for the structures so as to keep them maintained and in use.

The shelters were originally built at existing taxi ranks during the day of the horse-drawn cab because cabbies were not allowed to leave their vehicle unattended in order to go for refreshment in a local pub. Their aim was to provide wholesome food and shelter. Because they were to be sited on the highway the police stipulated that the shelters should take up no more room than a horse cab, which explains their diminutive size into which crammed up to a dozen cabbies round a central bench with just room for a stove and a counter for preparing and serving food and mugs of tea. Etiquette was controlled for those using the shelters with an absolute prohibition on gambling, drinking and swearing.

Jimmy Jenkins, Trustee of the Cabmen’s Shelter Fund, said: “These shelters were built in the nineteenth century to provide cabbies with good and wholesome refreshments at moderate prices, which is what they’ve been doing ever since. We’re proud to be looking after them now. Passers-by are always curious about the shelters. We’re looking forward to collaborating with the Creative Intelligence Agency to share this unique bit of London’s heritage.”

Martin Harrison-Putnam, Senior Curator, London Transport Museum, said: “There is a gap in our collection when it comes to material relating to London’s cabbie community so we are delighted to be collaborating on this original and exciting project. We also welcome the way it will work with London cabbies, contemporary artists, local schools and community groups to create, collect and interpret this material.”

Danielle Olsen, curator for the Creative Intelligence Agency, said: “These seemingly modest buildings belie the fact that they are sites of navigational expertise. The cabbies that use them today are experts at getting around London. The shelters are also conversation hubs, alive with the exchange of anecdotes told and stories overheard as cabbies go about their business of transporting Londoners and visitors from place to place. The Cabbies’ Shelters Project will tap into this rich vein of London’s life and heritage. We are thrilled to be commissioning artists to produce work inspired by these distinctive buildings and the knowledgeable cabbies that use them.”

Gibson

It has the just like you read through my mind! A person to know lots about this, as you submitted a e-book in it or something that is. I feel you could utilize a number of Pct to just make your message home a small amount, but other than that, this can be amazing blog. An outstanding read. We’ll unquestionably return.

Gibson

Kay

February 15, 2014 at 3:17 pm

Hiya! I know a couple in the borough of Richmond-upon-Thames. He is currently a London cabbie (40+ years in service) and she ran one of these huts (not sure of the dates). Would you like to interview them if they are open to this? Please let me know via email how they can contact you and I will forward the info to them. Kind regards, Kay

Gibson

February 16, 2014 at 12:20 pm

I started the feature on Green Shelters after an American asked for information for her degree. Since then it has grown and grown. In addition to the post I have one of the most read pages on CabbieBlog dedicated to these little gems:http://www.cabbieblog.com/green-cab-shelters/ Thank you for your comment and yes I would love to get in touch with a past proprietress.

Where to, Guv ?

Climb aboard

Frith Street, Soho was referred to as Froth Street due to the number of milk bars and cafes located there in the 1950s #LDNTrivia

Follow that taxi !

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